1. Higher Difficulty Replays
This might sound like a simple tip, but it’s part of the reason that difficulty settings are there to begin with in video games. You’re not necessarily meant to start at the higher difficulty settings, even if you’re a self-described “hardcore gamer.”
If a game seems too tough on a certain difficulty at the start, it may not still feel that way after you’ve played through on a lower difficulty. After you understand the mechanics better, you may have a better chance of making it through on a harder setting.
2. Trophies and Achievements
This is another simple option, but especially with single-player games, going to trophy and achievements can give you a reason to keep playing a game.
In many cases, these can be more fun than simply playing again on a higher difficulty because you’re looking at completely new challenges.
Some games offer better mechanics around achievements and trophies than others. Some are too easy while others are too difficult. That said, well-designed trophies and achievements can wring significant replay value out of a game.
3. 100 Percent Completion
Even after you’ve completed every achievement or trophy in a game, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve done 100 percent of everything there is to do in the game. Check in-game stats screens to see if you might have a few things left to check off.
100-percenting a game isn’t always super fun, but if you love a game so much you just want to keep playing it, this will give you a reason to do so. Combine it with upping the difficulty and you may have just tacked on significant hours to your play time.
4. Design Self-Imposed Challenges
If you’ve run through the higher difficulties and gotten every achievement and still want to keep playing, it’s time to get creative. This means designing your own challenges.
For example, RPG fans might run Single Straight Character Challenges, which means disabling the rest of your party and playing through with only a single character wherever possible.
This can be every bit as difficult as it sounds, though in these runs you’re often allowed to use every trick in the game to offset your disadvantage.
The Nuzlocke Challenge for thePokemonseries is another example of a self-imposed set of rules that can make subsequent replays more interesting.
Related:Why you should try the Pokemon Nuzlocke Challenge
If you’ve otherwise completed a game, try thinking of some challenges to give you a new way to play through it. You may surprise yourself.
5. Speed Run
Unless you’re some kind of super gamer, you can’t expect to suddenly start doing world-record speed runs after a few tries.
That said, watching some speed runners make their way through a game you love can show you things you never knew about it in the first place.
Many speed runners started because they loved a certain game so much they wanted to find new ways to play it. You may find this is the case for you too.
Once you’ve watched a few speed runs, you can give it a try yourself. Again, you can’t expect to be perfect overnight. You may even find you don’t enjoy doing speed runs at all once you’ve tried a few.
Or Just Play Games That Will Last
No matter which gaming system you prefer, there will always be dense video games with naturally lengthy playtimes—and they aren’t always RPGs!
If you’re the kind of player who likes to focus on and dive fully into a single game at a time, these are the ones for you:
